Holga, Brownies, Pinhole and any other kind of Lo-Fi

[timor]

World Toy Camera Day.

I've got a roll of Delta 3200 in the Holga right now. Still have 5 shots left, but hopefully there will be something from that to show.

WTCD - my bad, I should know. Thanks.
Delta 3200, not to fast for Holga ? I put on my step up ring for filters ( at least some control of exposure ) and lens cap.

 

[limr]

World Toy Camera Day.

I've got a roll of Delta 3200 in the Holga right now. Still have 5 shots left, but hopefully there will be something from that to show.

WTCD - my bad, I should know. Thanks.
Delta 3200, not to fast for Holga ? I put on my step up ring for filters ( at least some control of exposure ) and lens cap.

Well, I was doing some night shooting in the city last week. I had Tri-X in my K1000 that I'm going to push to 1600, and I've had the two rolls of 3200 that have been sitting in my fridge for months, so I thought it might be a good time to try it out. Though it also might make it a little hard to finish the roll!

 

[timor]

World Toy Camera Day.

I've got a roll of Delta 3200 in the Holga right now. Still have 5 shots left, but hopefully there will be something from that to show.

WTCD - my bad, I should know. Thanks.
Delta 3200, not to fast for Holga ? I put on my step up ring for filters ( at least some control of exposure ) and lens cap.

Well, I was doing some night shooting in the city last week. I had Tri-X in my K1000 that I'm going to push to 1600, and I've had the two rolls of 3200 that have been sitting in my fridge for months, so I thought it might be a good time to try it out. Though it also might make it a little hard to finish the roll!

Oh my, never thought of night photography with Holga. OK, thumbs up !

 

[timor]

hrm...dont have a true toy camera, but i have a sanyo i bought from a pawn shop for 15$ that has a focus problem, so it kind of has a toy camera look...

best I got, for now at least, have a paper camera kit I plan on assembling sooner or later and some kodak to throw at it

This is an interesting composition. Nice.
Good luck with this paper camera kit. Is it a pinhole ?

 

[smithdan]

not really a "toy" camera but certainly lo-fi, ]

Surprisingly sharp. My Hawkeye is making really dreamy images.

Wonder when Kodak changed to plastic lenses in these. Didn't take this one apart, was made in '55. Pinhole conversion one made in '56 and had a plastic lens. My little brown Holiday from '55 has glass.

Softness works well with your shot of the woods behind the houses.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Ooh, never thought of nighttime with a Holga either. Thanks for the idea/inspiration.

 

[limr]

I never thought of it either until that 3200 ISO film caught my eye. Well, 5 more shots and we'll see if it was a good idea or not

 

[timor]

Softness works well with your shot of the woods behind the houses.

That's the only frame I liked from all 12. But then I was more interested in getting sharp pictures (about 4 years ago). I shot it just for fun and to see if I manage to respool film to 620. Now I am looking into more pictorial photography and this Hawkeye has own character different from Imperial or my Holgas (not lucky here despite 4 of them ).

Now different story: two weeks ago I bought Kodak Duaflex IV in visually very good condition. This one has 72mm Kodar triplet and front element focusing. First roll came out totally out of any focus, so I disassembled the lens, marked maximum "in" position and tried to find the focus. After third reset I think I found it. Just finished development of HP5 and it looks very sharp. Someone set this lens at about 60% of full turn to close to the flange. I still have to print to see, if there is something "special" in terms of neo-pictorialism in this camera. I hope yes as I like the TLR style of shooting. As a matter of fact today I should become a new owner of Flexaret VI complete with 35mm adapter.
Meopta Flexaret Automat VI medium format and 35mm

 

[smithdan]

I have a Duaflex II which I haven't had out yet and a Duaflex III that I shot a year or so ago. The kodar lens did a pretty fair job with no "character". Had the focus problem also at first. Shutter speed fixed at a tired 1/50 sec. nice to hold and use despite the long push for the shutter .

That Meopta looks nice!

Full frame unaltered neg scan from the Duaflex III. Perhaps a little softness toward the corners. Little underdeveloped, found out my thermometer was reading 2 deg. high.

 

[limr]

That Flexaret does look nice. And it does 35mm, too. Interesting. I enjoy a TLR very much. I originally bought my Lubitel thinking it would be more of a toy camera, but even though it still feels like a toy, the lens is way too good for me to think of it that way. I have to think of it as a "real" camera

I need to return the lens back to normal in the Argoflex and put a roll through that.

 

[timor]

It seems, that I set the focus on Duaflex close to correct. This are scans from prints size about 7.5" x 7.5" (but I think I can go to 10 x10). Shot on HP5 and over exposed by 1 - 1.5 stops in cloudy conditions. Despite lack of filter and not compensating development, which by the way I think was a bit too long still after time correction sky is not too bad. Maybe cause the lens is not very contrasty. (I doubt there are any coatings.) Scans are on my monitor different than prints in contrast and tonal scale, but when I tried to correct this it didn't work right, so it is, what it is.
#1 My shadow (again )

#2 Close up work

#3 Near - far landscape

This image was shot on red dot, a marking on the focus scale. My guess is, that's point of max DoF. Aperture was 16 (max). I think not bad.
#4 Trouble

It is not much visible on the negative but it shows in print badly. Interestingly just in a few frames. Why ? The problem might be reflective surfaces on the sides (left and right) of camera abscura. Top and bottom is nice black mat, sides are of brown, very reflective plastic plus just above the lens runs steel, silver bar. So I guess I will be painting it black mat.
Overall I am happy. The lens, relatively not bad like for three element unit in cheap camera is sharp enough yet gives soft feel. Maybe the transitions between tones does that. I am curious how it will work in more contrasty and bright light but first I have to figure it out, how to attach a filter (preferably Cokin).

 

[smithdan]

Concerning the artifacts in #4, did you respool the film onto 620 or cut the plastic 120 spool back to fit? Looks like light leaking in from the edges. This would show in the first few frames, not as much from frame 5 on.

 

[limr]

timor, do I detect a shadow of a hat - a proper hat - in that first picture?

 

[timor]

timor, do I detect a shadow of a hat - a proper hat - in that first picture?

Good eyes !

 

[timor]

Concerning the artifacts in #4, did you respool the film onto 620 or cut the plastic 120 spool back to fit? Looks like light leaking in from the edges. This would show in the first few frames, not as much from frame 5 on.

Well, I am respooling to 620 routinely and so far I didn't have this problem. After careful look at the neg I can see, that every frame has this over exposure at the left and right edge, but is not on my respooled films from Imperial Reflex (which is also not the best inside, but shaped differently). Plus usually I load the camera right in my darkroom and unload to. Rather no change in the field. I think I go ahead and paint this surfaces nice mat black and we'll see with the next roll, if things improve.